Are Domestic Violence and Pregnancy Preexisting Conditions?

November 6, 2009

By Peggy McDaniel, BSN, RN

Kaiser Health News recently ran a story about an attorney who was denied private insurance coverage based on a “preexisting condition”—that is, treatment she’d received following a domestic abuse incident. A majority of states have passed laws prohibiting insurers from denying coverage based on treatment for domestic violence, but eight states as well as the District of Columbia have no such legislation. It is a challenge to track the occurrence of such denials. Insurers often use alternative ways to find out about a history of domestic abuse. They have been known to search for protective orders at local courthouses, which is public information, and search through medical records for documentation of treatment related to such incidents.

A bitter irony is that nurses are expected to be aware of and directly question patients about suspected abuse, yet in doing so we could be setting up patients for future loss or denial of coverage.

Pregnancy, likewise defined as a preexisting condition, can also be used to deny coverage. Health reform bills under consideration would disallow the practice of basing insurance rates on gender, a practice which has in effect discriminated against women, particularly those of child-bearing age.

The practice of denying private health insurance coverage based on these and other preexisting conditions must stop. As a nurse and a consumer, I believe that everyone should be able to buy health care at a reasonable price. A rate such as $1,000 per month for a family is not affordable. In the end we all pay if people do not have some kind of coverage, since the uninsured do eventually receive care—from ERs, which are mandated to provide this care.

By moggs oceanlane, via Flickr

The very idea that a person can be denied health insurance coverage for a history of domestic violence should encourage us to look closely at reform efforts under discussion and actively join in the conversation. As nurses we are asked to support our patients and promote physical and mental health. If the very support we give, such as a referral to a domestic violence support group, causes a patient to lose her insurance, we all fail.

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4 comments

[…] Another post noted that domestic violence is considered a “pre-existing condition” and can be used to deny coverage. Our present health care system is unacceptable, but what can we do about it? Rules preventing paid lobbyists from playing dominant roles in shaping legislation would be a good starting point. […]

[…] Another post noted that domestic violence is considered a “pre-existing condition” and can be used to deny coverage. Our present health care system is unacceptable, but what can we do about it? Rules preventing paid lobbyists from playing dominant roles in shaping legislation would be a good starting point. […]

And we all walk upright? |This is a horrible state to put nurses in who are the patient advocate\demoralizing for everyone involved. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\this reeks of moral and ethical residue.

You’d almost think the insurance companies were part of the abuse cycle. And having nurses screen for abuse in these circumstances, I think, makes us a little bit complicit in their ongoing victimization. You’re right,an ugly irony.